PRESSURE

10.15.12

E.U. Toughens Iran Sanctions

Virginia Mayo / AP Photo

Putting its shiny, new Nobel Peace Prize to good use, the European Union announced plans to toughen sanctions against Iran as a result of the country’s continued efforts to pursue its disputed nuclear program. The new sanctions, which are the most far-reaching since the ban on oil imports in July, ban trade in finance, metal, and natural-gas sectors. They also make business transactions in other areas more difficult, prohibiting “all transactions” between Iranian and European banks. The European Union’s foreign-policy chief said, “We will continue to keep up the pressure,” adding that the sanctions policy “is important because it’s quite clearly having an effect.”